Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my MechWarrior/BattleTech - Halo crossover redux.
Thank you all for your wonderful feedback and support. I deeply appreciate it.
For those of you wanting to see the Star League really start screwing over the Insurrection, this is the chapter for you. A certain Colonel is about to get his just desserts in this chapter. For those of you who can guess, kudos to you.
As always, leave a review and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the MechWarrior/BattleTech or Halo franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Microsoft Studios, 343 Industries, Bungie, FASA Corporation, FASA Interactive, Catalyst Game Labs, WizKids, Piranha Games Inc., etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or artists.
Eridanus II
Eridanus II Space Docks
September 14th, 2525 (2795)
Engine inspections were just a part of life for the crew of the Laden, a Parabola-class freighter. It was the difference between life and death out here in the Outer Colonies, where quick escapes could save a crew from certain doom.
For SLDF Blackheart Commander Richard Haynes, it was the SLDF's best chance to get revenge against the Insurrection for attempting to tear apart the SLiE. He strode through the Laden, showing off his dockworker ID card as he went. To most looking at him, that's what they assumed that he would be doing: ensuring that cargo was properly transferred from ship to station.
The fools have no idea what we're really here for, he snickered to himself. He recalled briefing from Director Nicholas Kerensky, the head of the Star League Intelligence Command, or SLIC for short. According to one of Nicholas' agents, the Laden was being captained by an Innie that was clandestinely transporting food and supplies to an asteroid called Eridanus Secundus. The agent had also confirmed that Robert Watts, the leader of the United Rebel Front, was on the asteroid.
Their orders were twofold: capture Robert Watts, and capture as much URF intel as possible so the SLDF could assault and destroy numerous Insurrectionist strongholds in the Outer Colonies. It was believed that this would send a clear message to the Insurrection: do not fuck with the SLDF, or you will suffer the consequences. In addition, the attack would be revenge for the Insurrection's attempts to destroy Omicron VII and Soell III's colony.
This joint operation with ONI would not only would it help to build ties between the UNSC and SLiE. This would allow them to not only figure out how effective they were, but it would also allow the SLIC to know what to do should ONI decide to blackmail them into obedience.
Nicholas has put a lot of trust into us, and I don't intend to let him down, Richard reminded himself. Finally, he reached the Laden's docking area. The ship was relatively flat in the front, with the middle of the ship being occupied by a large sphere made out of transparent metals and structural reinforcement. The rear of the ship reared above it, giving it a vague resemblance to the Captain's Quarters on galleons during the Age of Sail. In a way, the Laden was very much like the futuristic descendant of the galleon.
Walking onto the ship, he spotted several more cargo handlers, as well as other members of the crew. Most of them were hardened veterans of the shipping lanes, while others were fresh faces that had joined to either support their families, or to see the Outer Colonies for themselves.
As he looked around, Richard noticed one of the newer faces. A relatively young man with light skin, freckles and pale blue eyes, he looked like your average Outer Colony resident. When Richard looked at him, though, some slumbering part of his instincts began to ring an alarm bell. He didn't know why that was the case, only that this young man was more than he seemed. He was about to investigate when he felt someone brush him on the shoulder. "Richard?" a deep and rumbling voice asked. "You OK?"
Turning to his left, he spotted a dark skinned man with a thick black beard and green eyes. That was Olson Wernke, another undercover SLDF Blackheart and one of Richard's closest friends. A stocky, but strongly built man, Olson was nicknamed 'Son of Kong' by the team due to his physical strength, as well as his gigantism, which had given him an immense height of seven feet and five inches. A quite but emphatic man, he served as the emotional bedrock of Epsilon Squad, the team that was onboard the Laden.
"I'm fine," Richard replied. "Why?"
"Just curious is all," Olson remarked innocently. "You look like you saw someone familiar."
"I thought I did," Richard said. "I guess I was seeing things."
"I guess." With that, the two walked into a private room, whereupon Olson whispered. "I think that's the leader of the Spartans. When I walked by, he slipped something into my trouser pockets." He handed Richard a small slip of paper. Reading the slip of paper, Richard noted that it said, 'Meet us at destination. Come discreetly.'
Reading the small paper slip, he said, "All right. Just before we reach the destination, we'll speak with this guy. Understood."
"Copy that," Olson replied as he and Richard went their separate ways.
. . .
The rest of the ten-hour journey passed without incident. Looking outside of a viewport, Richard could see where they were at: Eridanus II's asteroid belt. All kinds of asteroids were here, from small ones barely the size of a fingernail, to ones that were larger than a small city. Ice crystals and dust were scattered among the asteroids, causing small streams of light to form, while causing other areas to be shrouded in hazy dust.
Up ahead, he could see their destination, a particularly large asteroid that had a hangar bay up ahead. The asteroid was massive, probably one of the largest asteroids in Eridanus II's asteroid belt. Judging by its size, Richard guessed that, if one used all of the space inside of said asteroid, they could build a small city inside of it. Might even be a small city in there, he observed, even as he proceeded towards the ship's cargo hold.
He proceeded through the cargo hold and into a small private room for the meeting. Once inside, he locked the door and placed a small device onto the wall. Once the proximity alarm was active, he asked, "Is everyone here?"
At his questioning, five more people walked out of the dark and into view. Two men, including Olson, and two women made up the group, their cargo handler uniforms rumpled, though fully on. "We're here," Olson reported.
"Good," Richard decided. "Did anyone notice anything off?"
"Yes," one of the women, Nancy, replied. "While I was checking the sensor for the water tank, I found that it had been rigged to show full when it was only partially so. My guess is that ONI must've found out that Watts was here as well, and sent a strike team to capture him. They might even have sent Spartans to capture him."
"That's expected," Ferdinand remarked. "From what I hear, Director Kerensky managed to strike a deal with ONI."
"That's correct," Richard confirmed. "In exchange for allowing us to take Colonel Watts into custody, we'll be working alongside one of their new teams to capture him." Looking at the time, he said, "Everyone, get suited up once we're on the station. We're going to be docking soon. ETA: 30 mikes. Everyone else has gone to bed, so we won't be offloading cargo on our shift. That'll allow us to sneak onto the station and get to Watts." With that, everyone left the room, before getting ready to offload cargo.
Once the ship had landed inside of the hangar bay, and the doors had closed, the team began offloading cargo. As they did, Richard and the others silently slipped away, before they reached a smaller building that was just off the main monorail line. Getting inside, Richard called out, "Cameron."
A moment later, he heard a woman's voice say, "Star." A woman with dark brown hair and tanned skin walked into view, her blue eyes flashing as she looked around. "Were you followed?"
"No," Richard replied. "We made sure no one was following us."
"Good," the woman replied. "Agent Genevieve Ulsa of the SLIC. I have your Nighthawk armor fully assembled and ready to go. You just have to get inside and they'll automatically close up. We spent the past eight years improving the designs with the newest technology we could find."
"Understood," Richard said. "We were also told to speak with someone before we began the assault. Are they with you?
In response, a group of two women and three men arrived, all wearing black body suits with small armor modules installed. The first of the three men had blond hair and green eyes, while the other had black hair and blue-green eyes. The women were also as varied, with the first having red hair and green eyes and the second having brown hair and blue eyes. The one that had Richard's attention, however was the leader, as Richard almost immediately recognized him, from the dark brown hair to the pale blue eyes and freckles. I had a feeling that kid in the cargo bay was more than he seemed, he noted with satisfaction.
A moment later, the man spoke up, his voice strong and steady. "Identify yourself."
"Richard Haynes, Epsilon 1-1."
"John-117, Blue-1," came the reply. Walking forwards, John-117 shook Richard's extended hand. "Good to meet you."
"Likewise," Richard agreed as the rest of his team came over. "I saw you earlier today. Figured that you were part of the infiltration team ONI sent. Takes one to know one." Looking at the others, he said, "This is my team, consisting of Ferdinand, Epsilon 1-2, Olson and Zach, 3 and 4, and Nancy and Cassandra, 5 and 6."
"Understood," John-117 noted. Motioning to the others, he said, "Sam-034 and Linda-058 are Blue-2 and 3, Kelly-087 and Frederic-104 are 4 and 5, respectively. You were briefed on our mission?"
"Yes," Richard confirmed. "SLIC did the legwork on this one. We're ready to start kicking ass. Before we go in, we need a solid plan of attack."
"Smart idea," Sam-034 agreed. "We go in guns blazing, and Watts is definitely going to get away."
"My thoughts exactly," Ferdinand agreed. Pulling out a datapad, he pressed a button, with the 'pad displaying the schematics for the target building. "According to Genevieve here, Watts and his men are currently holed up inside of the tallest structure in the town: the Barracks. It's a 480m tall structure that has a number of additions that the Insurrectionists made to it, including an armory as well as several exposed pipes on the outside and inside of the building. The tricky part is going to be getting at him."
"Say, why not use this elevator shaft?" Kelly-087 inquired as she pointed at part of the schematic. "The stairs are likely going to have barricades and checkpoints set up. Using the shaft would allow us to bypass those entirely."
"Good thinking," Ferdinand agreed. "That'll make things much easier for you guys."
"My thoughts exactly," John-117 added. "What about you guys, Richard?"
"We've got Nighthawk XLX Power Armor," Richard said. "They're equipped with jump jets, so we can scale the building just fine. They also installed new gear into the gloves so latching onto buildings shouldn't be too hard."
"Good," John-117 noted. Thinking for a moment, he said, "All right, here's the plan. We'll use the tram to get closer to Watts and his men. Once we reach the tower, Blue Team will terminate any hostiles outside of the base, after which we'll enter through the lobby and use the elevator shaft to get to the floor that Watts is at. Richard, you'll take Epsilon Squad and scale the building using your Power Armor's jump jets. Once you're at the upper floor, you'll hold position and wait for us to breach the floor. When we do, you'll breach the side of the building and help neutralize the hostiles in the immediate vicinity. Once that's done, we'll breach the room Watts is in and take him captive. Understood?"
"Perfectly," Richard confirmed. "Rules of engagement?"
"All targets expendable."
"All right with me then. Let's go." With that, Blue Team began gearing up, while Richard and the others walked towards the Power Armor they had in the building. The Nighthawk Power Armor resembled a full suit of normal body armor, but with some notable changes. The Nighthawk suit was fully sealed and built on an exoskeleton so the user isn't burdened by the suit's 225-kg weight. It was also built for stealth, with the armor using an advanced ECM suite to disrupt comms and sensors within a 50m radius.
This, Richard noted, was the Mk. XLX variant, complete with Advanced Armor, a variant of Ferro-Fibrous plating. For battlefield mobility, meanwhile, advanced myomers in the Mk. XLX allowed wearers to sprint at 30 km per hour. The best part was that it also used a small-scale version of the Null Signature System, which would hide it from hostile sensors and thermal scanners. In addition, jump jets allowed it to jump 120 meters into the air, while Advanced Armored Gloves allowed them to smash into walls and hold on, allowing them to scale even the highest buildings.
Getting inside was a fairly easy affair as well, as the upgrades meant that the armor would fold over the user's body once they put their feet into the boots of the armor. Tearing off his cargo handler uniform to reveal his bodysuit, Richard stepped inside, allowing the armor to fold around him. A moment later, the HUD activated, with the system indicating that the armor was sealed and that they were ready to go. Nearby, he could see the others making sure they were ready as well. "We good?" he asked.
"Affirmative," Zach reported. "The suit's are working as intended. We've got around 12 hours before the power packs go dead."
"Roger that," Richard said."John, your team ready?"
"Affirmative," John-117 replied.
"Then let's go." With that, the team moved out, weapons at the ready. Spotting the tram station, Richard and the others quietly snuck up on the tram. Spotting a door on their side, he checked his sensor suite to make sure the room was clear, along with his thermal imaging gear. When no contacts showed up on the train, aside from the forward compartment, they moved inside. Thankfully, the Innies had closed the door to the forward compartment.
"Nice armor," Sam-034 noted. "You guys make that model?"
"Yes," Richard replied. "Focus on the mission, though. We can talk shop later." Everyone fell silent as the tram moved forwards. For the next few minutes, there was silence. Eventually, it came to a stop.
"Nav marker at 433 meters and holding," Kelly-087 reported, her voice echoing in the tram.
"Top floor," John-117 noted. "Helmets on!" The rest of Blue Team whipped out some bags, before pulling helmets out and putting them on. Opening the doors, they began to get to work. Two guards were near the front, and they were the only ones there, as the city was in it's night cycle. "Wait," John ordered. "Let the guards bring the goods inside and into the elevator. Then we'll neutralize the guards and the hostiles in the lobby." Richard nodded in agreement, sticking to body language and hand signals.
Once the Innies carrying the crates were inside, they acted fast. Exiting the tram, both John and Blue-4 quickly cut across the ground, surprising the two guards at the entrance. Before the hostiles could even reach for their comm units, both John and Blue-4 fired silenced weapons, killing the two instantly. Dragging their bodies out of the way, they advanced into the lobby with the rest of Blue Team. Richard, getting a signal from John, looked at the others and said, "Time to scale the building." They fired up their jump jets, quickly clambering onto taller points of the building. Leaping from roof to roof, there were only a few times where they needed to use their Advanced Armored Gloves.
"These AAGs work really well," Zach remarked as he grabbed onto a small ledge. "I'm not even feeling fatigue in my fingers."
"Good," Olson added, "because we've got a ways to go yet. Where's Blue Team?"
"Comms check," Richard ordered. "Blue Team, you there?"
"Affirmative," John-117 replied. "We're moving up the elevator shaft. ETA to target: 3 mikes. You?"
"Making swift progress," Richard reported. "ETA to target: 1 mike."
"Solid copy," John replied. "Once we're in position, breach the building and move in. Over and out."
"Roger, Blue-1. Let us know when you're ready. Epsilon 1-1 out." Richard confirmed. Closing the comm channel, he said, "This place is about to be lit up. Once we're at the top floor, we wait for Blue Team to get into position, then we breach the wall and get in. Understood?"
"Affirmative," the others replied.
They continued to scale the building. Eventually, they reached the top floor, whereupon Richard activated his scanners. "I count… nine contacts inside," he reported. "Hold position."
"Affirmative," Olson replied. Using his free hand, he pulled out a breaching charge and placed it against the side of the building. "Ready for breach when Blue Team reports in." They then waited for Blue Team to report in.
A moment later, Blue Team reported in. "Charges in place," John reported over the comm.
"Copy," Richard replied. "Epsilon breaching now, now, now." Signaling Oslon, Richard watched as Olson retracted his hold on the building and jumped to the side. A moment later, he activated the breaching charge.
There was a loud WOMP-BANG as the breaching charge detonated. Polycrete and titanium beams blasted every which way as the fireball swallowed half the floor, and searing hot air rushed past the Spartans. Even before the dust settled, Richard and the rest of Epsilon Squad were already moving, with Richard using his jump jets to jump into the hole.
Switching to thermal, he watched as the entire place was promptly lit up in blue and blue-green hues, with heat emitting objects highlighted in yellows, oranges and reds. Two contacts were in front of him while a third had ducked down behind a crate while holding something. The two guards, guessing where Richard was, fired blindly into the smoke. Bullets pinged uselessly against the Advanced Armor on Richard's Nighthawk.
Rolling as he dropped inside, Richard snapped his Mauser II up and fired at one of the guards. A pulsing red beam of laser light tore the dust and into one of the guards, splitting him in half from the chest up. "Fuck!" he heard one of the guards yell. "That armor's too thick for bullets! Throwing a grenade!" The guard in question reached for a grenade, only for Olson to fire his own Mauser II, killing that guard in an instant.
At the same moment, Blue Team breached the door, blowing it down and moving in to assist Epsilon Squad. John, seeing an Innie pointing a gun at Sam, shouted, "SAM!" before throwing himself forwards. He grunted as three shots impacted his body, his eyes widening as he felt intense pain. Fighting through it, he returned fire, pumping the Innie full of lead, while the rest of the teams gunned down the rest of the Innies.
"John!" Kelly-087 shouted, worried. "John!? Can you hear me?!"
"I can," John-117 grunted.
"That should've been me," Sam-034 added, guilt plainly evident in his voice.
"Settle down," Richard grunted. "Not everyone gets their first op right without being injured." Looking at Nancy, he said, "Nancy, biofoam now!" Nodding, Nancy advanced, pulling out a can and spraying biofoam inside of John's wounds.
"That was stupid, John!" Blue-3 groused. "Queen doesn't sacrifice everything to collect a pawn!"
"All of the pieces go back into the same box when the game is done," John-117 countered. "Besides, I won't allow a person to die on my team unnecessarily."
"Wise words," Richard remarked as he walked over. "Come on, we've got an Innie leader to capture." Scanning the room, he said, "Contact is through the door up ahead. Time to introduce ourselves. Olson!"
"Preparing breaching charge!" Olson replied, walking over and slapping another one on the door. With that, the teams stacked up, with John limping as he got into position. A moment later, Olson blew the breaching charge.
The door was blasted inwards by the force of the detonation, scattering large amounts of metal and plastic. Searing heat rushed through the room, before quickly fading away. Both Blue and Epsilon teams moved in, weapons firing as they gunned down all the guards. The last individual in the room, Watts from the looks of it, shouted, "You won't take me alive!"
He pressed a handgun to his head. Richard fired his rifle, cutting into Watt's hand with the laser beam The URF Colonel roared from the pain as his hand fell to the ground, still clutching the M6D that it had been holding. Grasping the stump of his wrist, Watts, despite the agony of loosing his hand, snarled, "My men will be coming for you!"
"Empty the crate," John-117 ordered, spotting a crate that was on the ground nearby. "Sam, load the cargo."
"Cargo?" Watts asked, his voice strained from the pain. Before he could continue, though, Sam walked up and grabbed Watts by his wrists.
"Unhand me, boy!" Watts snarled. "I don't know who or what y'all are, but I know two things son. One, none of you are getting out alive, and two, I am absolutely not getting in that damned box!"
"You don't have a choice," Richard growled as he smacked Watts in the head with the stock of this Mauser II. The blow stunned Watts, before his impact with the ground knocked him out cold. "He's done talking." Using his eyes, he triggered a motion sensor built into his helmet. "Signal's going out," he told John. "In a few minutes, we're going to have two SLDF WarShips and a few UNSC WarShips on station."
"Good," John decided. "All right, everyone. Let's get out of here. Back to the docks." With that, the team knew one thing was for certain: mission accomplished.
(Author's Q&A)
edboy4926: Possibly. Either way, thank you for the support.
RoyalTwinFangs: Better.
Violet Toyger: Thank you. More tech will be shown soon.
Believer218: Thank you for spotting that error. I'll fix it when I can.
Krieger Techpriest: That they are.
SulliMike23: They already have. The attack happened in February.
Danny79: Yep. The UNSC and SLiE really benefited from each other. And yes, Alek is getting old, but he'll have a plan for that.
shypunk: Thank you.
Guest: Thank you.
Just a Crazy-Man: I'm glad you think it's cool.
galacticarmor2 Alt: Those are definitely interesting ideas. I'll definitely consider them. Thank you for bringing them up.